Apple iOS 7 Users Report Illness

That dizzy feeling you get when opening an app on your new iOS 7 operating system is not the excitement of owning the latest gadget from Apple. It could be vertigo or motion sickness. In short, your iPhone or iPad could be making you sick. Since the iPhone 5 release and the subsequent operating system upgrade iOS 7 for Apple devices, reports of illness during use have flooded Apple stores and forums. Issues are centered on physical negative responses to the motions of the apps in the new version, creating headaches and eye pain as well as dizziness and nausea.

Apple’s upgrade has changed the navigation, not swiping as in previous versions, but flying in toward the user “like credits in a (sci-fi) movie”. Some describe it as having the apps and icons exploding toward them. This effect is causing many users to suffer unpleasant reactions from simply feeling light-headed and nauseous to full-blown vertigo and motion sickness. Granted, with any major change to technology there are always those who yearn for the old ways, as they have become comfortable and familiar with them. This does not seem to be one of those occasions. Far too many users are reporting adverse reactions to the iOS 7 upgrade for this to be a mere matter of growing pains.

Users report no such issues with the previous iOS 6 system, which stuck with the swipe motion to navigate. Some have removed the update and gone back to the previous version to gain some relief from the ill effects of the upgrade. That option appears to no longer be available, so anyone who installs iOS 7 is now stuck with it.

There is some history behind graphical effects on the brain and its ability to maintain balance. Some people with epilepsy cannot play certain games or watch certain movies because the flashing lights in the visual display, even those beyond the human level of perception, can generate a seizure.

Analyst Greg Sterling of Sterling Market Intelligence told USAToday.com that the comments online are an “over-reaction” and believes that if the issue is truly a problem Apple will correct it. Sterling suggests taking a friend’s device for a test drive before installing the upgrade yourself.

At the present time, there is very little users can do to turn off the zooming graphics of iOS7. Certainly, Apple technical support offers a few tips for managing app loading speed, reported to be “a little long” but not much can be done to stop the apps from jumping in and out of their folder and zooming into the screens.

Users have reached out to Apple technical support but have been advised the effects cannot be completely disabled. Even tilting the device can create animations in the background. What can be done? The movement of the desktop behind the apps, called the parallax effect, can be disabled in iOS 7. Go to Settings> General> Accessibility, then tap “Reduce Motion” and slide the button to the right (usetoday.com).

Apple users seem to like iOS 7 but express disappointment with the animations that can be “a little long” and icons that appear “kiddy”. Apple has reported no fixes for the issue and iPhone and iPad users are stuck wondering and waiting or simply bypassing the upgrade until a future version has some implementation they can use without ill effects.